Nightfall

“Was Balik’s despondent expression a hint of the guilt he must feel for having failed to foresee the coming of the storm? Or did he look so horrified because he was able now to calculate the full extent of the fury that was about to descend?”

In this passage, Siferra, whose character is defined by her commitment to her career, projects her fears onto Balik, interpreting his expression on one hand but revealing her own feelings on the other. This passage may also be read, however, as foreshadowing the growing dread of the eclipse as its nature becomes increasingly clear to Siferra and the other scientists.

“No one on Kalgash liked to think about Darkness; but the less education one had, the more threatening it was to let one’s mind dwell on the possibility that the six friendly suns might somehow totally disappear from the sky all at once, that utter blackness might reign. The idea was unthinkable—literally unthinkable.”

As Sheerin talks to Harrim about his experience in the Tunnel of Mystery, he considers the social implications of total darkness. This foreshadows the way the masses of Saro City turn superstitious following the eclipse, ascribing divine meaning to what, from a scientific perspective, is simply a cosmic accident. The eclipse is catastrophic only because of humanity’s reaction to it, illustrating the power of Public Perception as a Force of Nature.

“It was practically an even struggle: the powerful appeal of Raissta on the one hand, and the desire to put his mind at rest concerning a major scientific issue on the other. And though he had an obligation to be on time for his appointment, Beenay realized in some confusion that he had made an appointment of sorts with Raissta too—and that was a matter not only of obligation but of delight.”

Beenay’s character arc is defined by the tension between his personal life and his professional life. He knows that he wants to be with Raissta, but cannot set aside his obsession with work, especially when the appointment he is fulfilling promises to resolve a compelling dilemma. He must continue to struggle between these two parts of his life all the way to the end of the novel.